COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State and Ferris State will meet Sunday night for a spot in the CCHA semifinals after the Buckeyes forced game three in the CCHA tournament quarterfinal series with a 3-1 win over the Bulldogs Saturday in the OSU Ice Rink. The Buckeyes scored three unanswered goals for the victory, with Ryan Dzingel, Max McCormick and Nick Oddo tallying for Ohio State, while Curtis Gedig had two assists and Brady Hjelle made 27 saves in the Buckeye net.

Game three will be at 7:05 p.m. Sunday in the OSU Ice Rink. Tickets are on sale now on Ticketmaster.com and can be purchased at the St. John Arena ticket office beginning at 5:30 Sunday. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth and are all general admission. Everyone, regardless of age, must have a ticket.

The Bulldogs opened the scoring 3:31 into the game when Travis Ouellette tipped in a pass from Justin Buzzeo with Ferris State on the power play. Gedig led Dzingel in on a breakaway with a perfect pass on the power play and he converted at 13:22 to tie the game at 1-all. Craig Dalrymple had the second assist on the tally, Dzingel’s team-best 15th of the year. Ohio State outshot Ferris State, 12-5, in the stanza.

The game remained tied until the 14:30 mark of the second period when Alex Szczechura sent the puck down low and McCormick won the battle behind the net and was able to score on a wraparound. The teams combined for 29 shots, with the Buckeyes putting 16 shots on net and Hjelle stopping all 13 Bulldog attempts.

Hjelle stopped all 10 Ferris State shots in the third period and Oddo sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 44 seconds remaining, assisted by McCormick and Gedig. The Buckeyes had 10 shots in the stanza.

Ohio State outshot Ferris State, 38-28, in the game. Hjelle played all 60 minutes and had 27 saves, while Ferris State goalie CJ Motte made 35 stops in 59:25.

Each team scored one power play goal – Ohio State was 1-for-2 and Ferris State was 1-for-3.

Postgame Notes • McCormick extended his point streak to eight (6g, 7a, 13p) with his two-point night (his fourth multiple-point game in the streak). He is second on the team with 14 goals and ranks third with 30 points, all career highs. He has a point in 15 of the last 18 outings. • Dzingel is first on the squad with 15 goals and second with 19 assists and 34 points. • Gedig has 13 points, including 11 assists, this season. He has three assists in the series vs. Ferris State and had his second two-assist game of the season vs. the Bulldogs. • Dalrymple leads Ohio State’s freshmen and defensemen with 16 points, including 13 assists. He is on six-game assist and point streaks (1g, 6a, 7p). • Szczechura is fourth on the team with 23 points and has a point in three of the last four games. • Ohio State has a power play goal in each of its last five games (5-for-21, 23.8 percent). • Sunday will mark the ninth game three in program history, with Ohio State 2-6 in the previous eight. The team's last game three win was at home over Ferris State in overtime, 5-4, in 2005. The team last played game three at Miami in 2010, falling 2-1.

Postgame QuotesMark Osiecki, Ohio State head coachOn the first period and the win tonight"Obviously we came out the first period and played our style very well. The team had a different look in their eyes tonight."

On if the players feel tired after two games"It is a part of the reason why our lineup changed today. Hopefully using our depth can be beneficial for tomorrow. Overall, the puck went back and forth tonight and Ferris State does a great job of stretching you out and making it a tough game."

On the team"Are we going to execute perfectly? No. But as a coaching staff we never question their will to compete and play hard. Missing a step in this sport happens but they prepare well as a team."

Ryan Dzingel, Ohio state sophomore forwardOn his goal“It was an unbelievable pass. It is something we have practiced a lot and I am glad it worked.

On the overall game“We were desperate tonight and came out strong. We plan to play the same way tomorrow.”

Max McCormick, Ohio State sophomore forwardOn last night’s game“After the game, coach told us we passed up a lot of goals. So the plan tonight was to create some chaos in front of the goal, crash the net and get lots of pucks on goal.

On getting ready for tomorrow“Focusing on stretching, using the cold tubs and biking are all ways we use to get our legs ready for tomorrow.”

On his goal“Al (Szczechura) made a nice play and the puck got loose and I wrapped it around and got it in.”

Bob Daniels, Ferris State head coachOn being ahead in the game“I don’t think there was any panic. A goal early is nice but you have to remember it is a long game. We knew this was going to be a tight series and I thought Ohio State played a good hockey tonight and I think we played well today too.”

On pre-game thoughts“Going in we wanted to take care of business tonight. Both teams are now in the same position where it is ‘one and done’. It is going to be an interesting game tomorrow night. It’s now, 1-1, and the goals scored against both teams are identical.”

On tomorrow’s outlook“Stamina is certainly an issue. I plan on seeing a lot of energy in the first period and we will have to see what will happen in the end.”